biz's blog

Please lend your support to Haiti

You don't have to travel to Haiti to help...and you don't necessarily need to donate money (although that is always helpful!).  My good friends at Brent Gambrell Ministries have been working in Haiti for years and are accepting donations at their Nashville office for the following:

Tylenol, Children’s Tylenol, Advil, bandages, antibiotic creams, non-perishable foods, flashlights and batteries, personal hygiene products, antibiotics, peroxide, antifungal ointment, canned meats, canned food goods, cold packs, ace bandages, thin blankets, pastas, canned milk, baby cereal, wash cloths, baby wipes, anti-bacterial gel.  They DO NOT NEED clothing at this time, but shoes are needed.

You can send all donations to the office (or drop them off if you are local):

Brent Gambrell Ministries
501 Metroplex Drive, Suite 112
Nashville, Tennessee 37211

If you are able to make a financial contribution to help, you can donate at any Regions Bank through a fund entitled BGM Haiti Relief Fund.  You can also send a check to the address above with Haiti Relief Fund designated in the memo line.  Every little bit helps as they are going to be shipping a lot of supplies to the orphanage and surrounding areas in Haiti.

You can contact the ministry at (615) 331-4600 or info@brentgambrell.com.

neglect

I've neglected my blog and I'm ok with that.  I think 2010 will be the year of better blogging, but I've got to get through these next few weeks of insanity first.  I hope to blog a little over Christmas and maybe some from Phoenix.

Yeah, that's what I'll do.

But, will I?

 

ok, nashville...what's up.

 

So, I am on a bit of a soapbox these days.  And, I'm pretty sure most of the people in my life (including myself) are guilty of putting the box in my path.

Here it is...WHAT is the deal with people always wanting COMP TICKETS TO EVERYTHING?!  Let me put it this way:  Let's say you have a good friend who you would pay money to go have dinner or drinks with.  You probably just dropped at least $20-$30 on that endeavor...and that happens often, right?  SO.  Why are you unwilling to spend $10-$20 on supporting said friend in their LIFE, their BUSINESS, their DREAMS, etc.?! And, for the most part, the people asking for comp tickets HAVE THE MONEY to buy the ticket.  It's the college students who are paying for the tickets that could use a comp ticket every once in a while.  ARGH!!!

A lot of my close friends are artists, musicians, writers, etc.  Why WOULDN'T I want to invest in their life?  It seems a bit selfish to think that just because you know someone, you should get their product and their time for free.  I wouldn't walk into a clothing store that a friend owns and just take clothes, so why would I TAKE tickets from my friends in the biz?!

Told you I was on a soapbox!  And, for the record, I have been SUPER guilty of this in the past.  Free tickets, free books, free CDs, free swag...whatever I could get.  I just realized a while back that I was guilty...and now I am striving to be a little more responsible and RESPECTFUL.

Ok, I'm done.  Thoughts? :O)

the things of this world.

 

Lately, I have been reminded that I have lost my focus a bit.  There was a time when I was wiling to rid my life of unnecessary things, things that are considered "luxury", things that don't have Kingdom or eternal impact.  I've noticed, however, that my thoughts have traveled elsewhere as of late.  I have become worried with "stuff" and my ownership (or lack thereof) of this "stuff".

Time to get back on track.

Time to realize that God's provision and blessings are not always monetary.  In fact, MOST of the time they are not monetary.  And I never want to become dependent on believing that they are.  I struggle with the whole concept that God's favor is expressed monetarily.  I don't believe that is a Biblical concept.  After spending time in Africa and seeing faithful, joyful, happy people who have literally nothing, I "GOT" it.  I just forgot that I "got" it.

And now it's time to get back on track.

Over and over throughout the Bible, God tells us, shows us, imparts to us wisdom and truth.  That, to me, is the TRUE blessing of God.  It is not something that can be purchased or earned.  It is something we, by faith, have to take and digest and apply to our lives.

Dig in!

off kilter

Some days and times find me off kilter and I get frustrated that I can't seemingly do anything about it. I need to give myself the space to figure things out, but struggle with the control aspect of it all...or lack of control?!

Trusting that God has the bigger picture in front of me is tough, but I want to be faithful to do just that. So, my prayer is for my faith to increase, trust to skyrocket and fears to subside.

Ok, that is all. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

who makes your bag?

do you know who makes your handbag?  check this out...

From my iPhone

Just checking out the new Squarespace iPhone app. Maybe I will start blogging regularly again....

A Million Miles...with Donald Miller

So, I'm going to use my own blog to shamelessly promote one of the authors we work with...Donald Miller.  His 60 city tour is getting ready to hit some East Coast cities and I'd love for you to check it out if he's in your area.  I am going to be at the show Friday in York, PA (gonna spend some time with the family and get my puppy back!!!).  I'd love to see you there...it's not far from Baltimore, Philly, NJ...wherever you are on the coast.  He's also got shows in NYC, Jamestown, Asheville, Charlotte...well, just check it out for yourself!

 

music for today

This is just what a rainy day needs...

dear thieves of east nashville...

While I appreciate the fact that you didn't cause any harm to myself, my roomie or my dog...

And while I appreciate that you weren't able to come into my house and take all of the rest of my stuff because my dog probably scared the bejeebies out of you...

I DO NOT appreciate you taking my Macbook.  The white one with the kickin' art gel sticker on it?  The one that had over 4,000 pictures of my travels, friends, dogs, etc.?  The one with my bajillion iTunes songs on it?  The one that had my most important documents strategically arranged in well-labeled folders?  Ring a bell?  Hmmmm???

And, NO.  I do not have a backup.  Thank you to everyone who has asked, though, because it makes me feel ALL the better about losing all of my stuff.  Apparently, I deleted all of my files on my .mac/mobile me account so that I could restructure and update.  Just hadn't actually DONE that yet.

So...

It's just a computer.  I know that.  It's just music.  It's just pictures.  It's just my personal information in the hands of some hooligans.  My life hasn't ended, everyone is safe and the world is still spinning away.  I just need a few days to accept it.

Therefore, east nashville thieves, I will soon be able to forgive and forget.  Just don't try it again or you are going to get more than my dog barking at you when you climb through the window.